Barrow - mound barrow, Carrowcaslan, Co. Sligo

Co. Sligo |

Barrows

Barrow – mound barrow, Carrowcaslan, Co. Sligo

In the lowlands of Carrowcaslan, in County Sligo, a modest earthen mound sits in pasture at the southern edge of wet, marshy ground, looking for all the world like an unremarkable rise in a field.

It measures roughly ten and a half metres north to south and just over nine metres east to west, standing no higher than a metre and fifteen centimetres at its tallest point. What makes it quietly anomalous is the flatness of its top, a level platform roughly six and a half by five metres, and the complete absence of any encircling bank or fosse, the ditch that typically rings prehistoric burial mounds of this kind.

This is a mound barrow, a type of prehistoric funerary monument built to cover a burial, sometimes a single interment and sometimes several accumulated over generations. The hollow in which it sits, bordered by marshy ground, suggests a deliberate siting, perhaps chosen for its proximity to water or its slightly enclosed, sheltered quality. Low-lying locations like this are less common for such monuments than elevated ground, which adds an element of curiosity to the choice. Without excavation it is impossible to say when the mound was raised or by whom, though barrows of this general form appear across Ireland from the Neolithic through the Bronze Age, a span of several thousand years ending roughly three millennia ago.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Barrow – mound barrow, Carrowcaslan, Co. Sligo. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 100 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement